Life-saving skirt.



'C. E. CROWELL.

urs SAVING SKIRT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 23. 1917- v Patented Apr. 9,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.'

- C. E. vCROWELL.

LIFE SAVING SKIRT. APPLICATION min QCT. 2a. 1911. a

Patented Apr. 9,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' UFTTE'D sraras rairanr series.

CLARENCE E. CROWELL, or PORTLAND, MAINE, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF r0 EDWINL. LE BUTT, 0F POBTLANID, MAINE.

LIFE-SAVING SKIRT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed. October 23, 1917. Serial No. 198,082.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. CRowELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Skirts;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in life saving skirts.

The object of this invention is to provide a skirt capable of being wornby bathers and is of such construction as to be deflated when worn, thusgiving no suggestion, when on the wearer, as to its being a lifepreserver.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a skirtconstructed of rubberized cloth or any other suitable light materialwhich may be readily inflated and will not interfere with the swimmerwhile swimming and at the same time if the swimmer is attacked withcramps, or the like, any danger of drowning will be obviated when theskirt is inflated.

A further object of this invention is to provide a skirt which may bereadily fastened about the waist of the wearer and when once in thewater it may be moved up beneath the arm pits, and it is provided with avalve which is in close proximity to the mouth of the wearer whereby itmay be easily inflated in a quick and short time.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a skirt of thischaracter, which will be simple, practical and comparatively inexpensivein construction, and one that can be manufactured and sold at a lowcost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fullydescribed and set forth in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view illustrating the skirt applied to aperson when out of the water and deflated,

Fig. 2 is a view illustrating the position of the skirt upon the wearerwhen inflated and ready for use,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device deflated illustrating theplaits.

' Fig. l is a top plan view illustrating the device inflated,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4E, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3 illustratingthe fastening means or the manner in which it may be fastened about thewaist of the wearer.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

' Referring to the drawings, the numeral 0 designates a single length ofrubberized cloth or other suitable material, suitable for the purpose.The cloth is first folded centrally on its longitudinal aXis to providea double thickness, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The upper openlongitudinal edges of the double thickness of cloth are bent back uponthemselves as at 6 and stitched as at 7 to provide an air receivingcompart ment 8.

The single length of cloth 5 or other material, is provided with aplurality of uniform plaits 9 which extend throughout the entire lengthof the cloth. The plaits 9 are formed by providing the upper open edgesof the cloth with three rows of stitches 10 which holds the plaits inposition and permits the device to be readily positioned about the waistof the wearer.

The ends of the cloth are stitched as at 11 and are provided withsuitable fastening means 12 which may be of the snap fastener or hookand eye construction so that the ends may be fastened in overlappingrelation with one another and position the device about the waist of thewearer as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

A. valve 13 of the ordinary construction is secured between the doublethicknesses of cloth as at 14: and this valve facilitates the inflatingof the device to provide a life saver when it is positioned upon theperson in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 thereby preventing the personfrom drowning when swimming or otherwise.

It is to be understood that the rubberized cloth 5 may be of any shadeto match the various kinds of bathing suits worn, and it will also beapparent that when the device is applied to the person as illustrated inFig. 1 that it will have the appearance of an ordinary over-skirt andwill lead no one to believe that it is a life preserver. It will also beapparent that it will only be necessary, when once in the water, to movethe same upwardly under the arm-pits, grasp the valve in the mouth andinflate the skirt and the device is ready to be used as a lifepreserver.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A life savingskirt constructed of a single length of mate 'ial and provided with aplurality of uniform plaits extending throughout its entire length,means for fastening the ends of the s ilt together to permit the same toencircle the waist of a person, and an inflating valve carried by theskirt to permit it to be inflated when in use.

2. A life saving skirt formed of a single length of material folded onits longitudinal axis to provide a double thickness stitched at itsupper edge and ends to provide an air bag, means for detachably securingthe ends of the material together and about the waist of the user, saidlength'of material provided with uniform plaits to give the device awearin effect when deflated about the waist of the wearer, and a valvesecured to the material and between the thickness to facilitate theinflating of the material when used.

3. A life saving skirt formed of rubberized material comprising a singlelength of material folded centrally on its longitudinal axis to providea double thickness having its longitudinal edges turned inwardly andstitched and its enc s stitched to provide an air bag, means forinflating the air bag, said length of material provided with uniformplaits throughout its entire length and means for fastening the materialabout the waist and under the arm-pits of the user.

In testimony whereof I ai'lix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE E. CRUWELL. l/Vitnesses EDWIN L. Ln BUTT, SILAS F. SKILLIN.

Gotten o3 this patent may be obtained for five cents cash, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, :D. @i

